Maybe I should’ve.
The last time I was in an elementary school was a decade ago for Piper. The walls covered in artwork never fazed me as they did now. I searched for Nova’s name but didn’t find it. Surely, she had to have an art project on the walls.
A couple of women stared at me and whispered as they came toward me. Perhaps I should’ve left my cut in my cage. Or they were intrigued with bikers.
Whatever. I was here for my woman and kid.
My kid. I’d never been more nervous before than I was to meet my daughter.
I stopped at the threshold of the classroom Karma had gone into. It was mostly cleared out except for Karma, the teacher I knew as Roja, and Storm’s SAA, Hero, who was by her side. Hero was Roja’s husband.
My little girl was seated at a desk. Her eyes went wide when she saw me. The air left my lungs, seeing her clearly for the first time. No question, she was mine.
“Hey man, come in.” Hero jerked his chin at me.
Nova didn’t take her eyes off me as I joined the others at Roja’s desk. Then again, I couldn’t take my eyes off her either.
“Hero.” I nodded.
“I called him because I wasn’t sure what to do,” Roja told us. “I wasn’t sure if there’d be any danger.”
“Good,” I said, tearing my gaze away from Nova to look at Karma. “Should I get my brothers down here? Or I can take you both to Fargo now.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary. He’s gone, right?” Karma directed her question at Hero.
“Yeah. I have prospects on all sides of the school. Nova told me he took off when the teacher’s aide asked who he was.” Hero turned toward me. “Your kid is angry, brother. She thinks I’m here to hurt her dad.”
“Fuck,” I hissed, peering at Nova. She was still watching me with big gray eyes.
Karma’s hand brushed against mine as if to get my attention. “We’re telling her the truth today,” she whispered. “I’ll see what I can find out about Stein, and I’ll let you know.”
“I would’ve called sooner, but my phone went missing.” Roja glanced at Nova. “I think your little girl and another student were in cahoots to prevent me from calling you.”
“How do you know that?” Karma asked.
“Because she started crying in her seat. After I calmed her down, my phone was missing from my desk. I found it in her little boyfriend’s desk.”
“Boyfriend? She’s not even seven,” I growled, staring at my daughter.
Roja giggled. “It’s nothing serious. Grayson likes Nova. He chases her during recess. It’s harmless, Cobra.”
I grunted, not liking what I was hearing.
“What do you want us to do about this dude?” Hero asked. “I don’t have much manpower back at the club, but I can put a couple of prospects at Karma’s place.”
“That’s not necessary,” Karma replied before I could. “Stein doesn’t know where I live.”
“Really?” I cocked my head. “How in the fuck did he find Nova’s school?”
“I don’t know.”
“Exactly.” I scratched my chin. “Go get our kid,” I told her.
“Okay.” She went without argument.
“I’ll let you know if I need your help. I’d rather take them back to Fargo with me.” I stared at Karma as she talked in a low voice to Nova. I wished I could hear what she was telling her.
“That would be best, man. We’re all distracted here with the shit going on in Montana.” He glanced at his wife. “There could be massive blowback in town.” He turned toward me with an icy glint in his dark eyes. “I don’t even want my woman coming to work.”